According to Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor of the United States, President Biden is not planning to meet with Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Earlier, it was reported that they could potentially meet at the G20 summit in Indonesia in November 2022.
On October 16th, the official confirmed that the American leader refused to meet with the Crown Prince at the G20 summit. Experts note the breach in US-Saudi relations is widening in light of the recent decision of the OPEC+ alliance to significantly cut oil production.
In fact, the Biden administration even considered halting arms sales to Riyadh. Jake Sullivan said Washington needed to mull over this issue. At the same time, the US authorities are proposing various changes to the relationship with Saudi Arabia, including limiting security cooperation.
Last week, the OPEC+ countries, including Saudia Arabia and Russia, agreed on oil production cuts of 2 million barrels per day. The agreement will come into effect in November 2022 and will last throughout 2023. The decision was condemned by the United States. Previously, the Biden administration asked the cartel to increase oil output.
In the early fall, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the alliance’s decision has solely an economic basis. Therefore, the oil producers gave their unanimous consent to new production cuts. In addition, the Saudi Ministry rejected accusations of aiding Russia. The White House accused the kingdom of supporting Moscow, while Western countries have been trying to slash Russia's energy exports.
